fishwizzard

I use a lot of the Gambler paddle tails and they are very sensitive to hook placement unless you have some weight on the hook to keel it. I sometimes fish the Big EZs weightless and on top like a toad and unless I get the hook placement perfect it will twist around like crazy.

This is the rod I use for most of my frogging and I really love it. I think it's ModFast taper is also key in helping land frog bass when I am positioned less then ideally to get one in. However, the longer handle has cost me more then a few bass as it seems to get snagged on my PFD/sunshirt more often the the rest of my short-handled kayak rods. I love the rod enough that I keep thinking about getting a second one and having the handle cut down and re-balanced for kayak use.

But that's my entire point! The possible repercussions of over-tightening a ratchet are far far less damaging then under-tightening a cam. A caming strap is limited by the strength of the person tightening it while a ratching strap gives mechanical advantage, which allows a far wider range of users to sufficiently tighten them. Ratching straps are inherently safer then a camming one. If a cam strap is allowed to slack the only thing holding the load is the small springs that keep the knurled bar pressed into the strap. A ratchet strap that is set too loose still has both spring pressure and all the friction from the strap being wrapped over it's self several times to keep it from slipping.

I use my FMJ for frogging fairly often. I prefer a rod that leans towards ModF for frogs but the FMJ has never really let me down. I think I cast far lighter lures on the FMJ then most people seem to, I use mine a lot for pitching larger weightless plastics in the 3/8-1/2oz range and I have no complaints with it's performance. The FMJ is way overkill for a frogs in terms of sensitivity, so if you are looking for a frog rod first and foremost then you could get an excellent rod for that for far less money.

I mean we’re just going to have to get into a battle of doing anecdotes, because I have experience over course of my career dozens and dozens of camlocks that have loosened up during transport and allowed loads to shift. I am mystified that there seem to be people out there who can be trusted to put enough tension on a camlock to prevent it from slacking but somehow turn into Lennie Small as soon their fingers touch a ratchet strap.

Sadly by the time I am free on a weekend again we will be well into pipe-season.

We will have to agree to disagree then. The only issue with ratcheting straps is a lack of self-control in the user. I would rather risk having people dent a yak with a ratchet then risk not tighten a cam enough and have said yak come off during transport.

If you can resist over-tightening them, ratchet straps are far far superior to cam straps. Cams are much more likely to loosen if they get any slack in then then ratchets are. Source: 24 years of securing scenery, AV gear, and fine art in trucks.

40-50 years ago my dad drove cars without power steering just fine, but I don’t think he would go without it today. Just because something worked in the past doesn’t mean that no improvements are possible.

Yea, it’s really disappointing. I am a lot more comfortable wading the Potomac with someone else but it’s hard to sell getting to anyone to come along with how poor the fishing has been of late.

@Fried Lemons, we could do a Goofus and Gallant comic about canal fishing, my friend and I were there last Monday and only managed to grind out a pair of dinks. We spent the morning wading at Harper’s Ferry and had no luck at all. We couldn’t find any grass and couldn’t even find any sunfish or baitfish activity. The water level was great and the clarity was outstanding, but there were literally no fish to be seen.

Didn't like: Steez SV/A, Steez LTD SV Meh: sv103 Liked: Alphas, 15 Alderbaran, TD-Z, Millionaire/Ringa The reels I didn't like either pinched my pinky or placed my pointer/middle finger right on the lock nut where I would worry it like a loose tooth.

I have a pair of new model GLX rods and I am 50/50 on the reel seat. Some reels are comfortable but an equal number have not been so. I 100% love the power/taper combo of the mbr rods though. Between the various mbr and cr lines I have 6 of them and if I was honest with myself I wouldn't need anything else.

If you want to try a "nice rod" without spending a ton, look for an old-model IMX rod on eBay. You can often find them for under $150 and imho they are stil a steal at that price.

This is the average ad for a used Tacoma around here: ”2001 Tacoma, 150k miles, no transmission, raccoon living in cab. Raccoon is friendly! $13,000 OBO.” I gave up and bought a wagon.

I use a Senko weightless and a Kut Tail with a 1/16oz bullet weight. Weightless the Kut-Tail has a more aggressive wiggle then a Senko, but not by much. Even that little bit of weight gets it moving though.

If I am fishing an actual Keitech I use the least amount of weight possiabe, usually either a 1/8-3/0 swimabait hook or a 4/0 Twistlock and a pair of 1/32 nail weights. To me the reason spend the money on an actual Keitech is their very subtle movement at low speed/low weights. For deeper/faster presentations I use either a Rage Swimmer or one of the Gambler swimbaits.

I de-barb most all of my cranks that still have trebles. I hate hurting a fish that I am just going to throw back and an emergency room trip would really kill my tackle-fund. Single hooks I do de-barb if the risk of a gut-hook is high, like fishing weightless plastics in the wind.

Zoom Swamp Crawlers more or less float, or at least they sink very slowly. They are thin, soft, and easy to drive a hook through.

IMHO, the faster the action the worse a rod is going to cast lighter lures. A super light XF tip will let you flick-cast light stuff but I really prefer a rod that loads a little deeper when I am fishing light plastics. A Zoom Super w/ hook weighs right around 5/16oz, so right at the lower limit for a lot of MH rods. If I was unable to handle them before hand I would go with a F over an XF if I was worried about casting them well. That being said, my favorite rod to work a fluke on is a M/XF with a very soft tip, but it's light enough to still load into the blank on the cast, but not as well as my M/F rods will.

I use a DS not to specifically suspend a lure in the water column, but to present a plastic right off the bottom when said bottom is mud and soft debris to the point that a t-rig/shakeyhead/whatever will endlessly bog down. A power-shot would do the same thing and is the only time I really use it.

I believe this, I have gotten some really nice bass under these conditions, but; This rule came from trying to do that and getting myself closer to heatstroke then I would like to admit to my wife. So let me amend mine to "If I am going to fish past noon in July/August, bring 50% less tackle and 100% more water. Also don't chug a 24oz coffee right before leaving the car"

I stated with Trout Magnets as I just wanted to catch "something", then once I got a 15-16" smallie on them I started to look more into bass fishing and fortunately found some of the MWF stuff on InFisherman and that is what got me catching bass with regularity.

Get up early and go fishing, if I wait until 10am to leave the house I might as well stay home.

https://www.plat.co.jp/ JDM tackle site. They are legit but their site is a mess.